DEMANDS FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY
We have accumulated hundreds of videos showing how much our citizens have suffered a long history of police abuse caused by the following practices within the department: irresponsibility, lack of accountability, heavy/ unnecessary use of force (a.k.a. deadly force), brutal and criminal conduct, lack of officer training; use of intimidation, and fear – all of which we deem to be unconstitutional and a violation of the citizens’ human and civil rights. Based on knowledge gleaned from our ongoing work as a community organization, local and national research, and personal testimonies. Cops Caught On Video demands Police Brutality to end. The following Home Office’s policing oversight committee Government interventions:
1) We demand an end to police patrol car chases, which kill and/or threaten the lives of suspects, innocent bystanders, and drivers.
2) We demand that the officers are monitor and provide corrective instruction to violent police officers, and remove them from the force if they are found to be incapable of appropriate professional police conduct. This would require that police officers who are predisposed to violent behavior or who have previously violated citizens’ rights complete the following steps: a written reprimand, corrective instruction, tracked closely by superiors, and removed from the force if they are found to be incapable of appropriate professional police conduct.
3) We demand that the officers be require reinstate rules of residency, require educational upgrades for promotions in the Department, and follow affirmative action guidelines EEOC policies and procedures. We need a police force that reflects the following characteristics: racial diversity, available to assist the citizens on a twenty-four (24) hour basis, well educated, sensitive to basic protocols of respectful human-social behavior and all federal rules and regulations. It is especially important that police officers learn ways to approach, question and communicate with persons who are mentally or physically disabled, as well as persons who speak a different primary language.
4) We demand that the Home Office’s policing oversight committee requires the Police Department to file an annual report of citizens’ complaints against the Department, and that reports of all citizen complaints be available to the public. This report should be comprehensive and include the following: a) complaints filed by intermediaries or witnesses to police brutality, b) fatalities at the hands of police officers, and c) the disposition of all cases of citizen complaints – summarized and compiled in a single document that is available to the public. Citizens who file a complaint should be kept informed of the progress in their investigation. The outcome of all investigations should immediately be made public. The monthly tabulation of crime in the city should be made available to its citizens through the libraries and the Department’s web-site.
5) We demand that the Home Office’s policing oversight committee require accountability from the Police Department in the Home Office’s policing oversight committee in the application for, receipt of, and allocation of funds from the State and Federal governments, and that such funds not be used in discriminatory ways, and that no funded programs violate human and Constitutional rights of its citizens. The full disclosure of all funds received should include the intent of how these funds are to be used, that such funds be used in ways that are non-discriminatory, and that no programs implemented by these funds violate human and Constitutional rights of its citizens.
6) We demand that the Police facilitate community-based conflict resolution and mediation initiatives.
7) We demand an end to surveillance, intimidation, and harassment of community activists by the Police Department. This policy will protect community activists who work consistently in our communities to protect and ensure our civil and human rights and enable them to continue their much needed services without the re institution of the notorious “Red Squad” files.
8) We demand that the Police protect citizens from state or federal efforts that would use military forces in conjunction with Local police to repress, intimidate or violate citizens’ Constitutional and human rights.
9) We demand that the Police Chief and members of the Police Commission be elected by its citizens. These demands emerge from the obvious failure of the current police review structures to hold police accountable. This is evidenced by the formidable expense to its citizens brought by police abuse case settlements. We must have a Police Chief and Police Commission who are directly accountable to the citizens of the community that they serve. These changes require an amendment to the City Charter, which we demand that City Council begin to prepare immediately for presentation to the citizens as a ballot question.
10) We demand that the Local Police strengthen and reform the Board of Police Commission making this important entity truly independent with powers to investigate and review complaints, subpoena witnesses, and issue public reports. These powers would allow the Board of Police Commission to function independently, obtain the necessary information required to investigate on behalf of the citizens, and keep the citizens abreast of the status of police actions.
